Apparatus fob cutting circular wooden plates



(No Mod'e.) A

I. M. RHODES. APPARATUS' FOR GUTT'INGUIRUULAR WOODEN PLATES.

Patented N012.. 1886.

WITNESSBS: INVENIOB.:

f UNITED STATES PATENT Ottica. v j

ISAAC M. RHODES, OF HANCOCK, MICHIGAN.

APPARATUS FOR CUTTING CIRCULAR WOODEN PLATES.

SPECIFICATION forming part. of Letters Patent No. 352,003, dated November 2, 1886. Application tiled May 28, 1886. Serial No. 103,560. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, ISAAC M. RHODES, of

Hancock, in the county-oi' Houghton and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus forCutting Circular Wooden Plates, of which the follownre l is a perspective view of my improved apparatus. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the saine adjusted in operative position, and Fig. 3 is a detail view of one of the adjustable cutters.

The same letters of reference indicate corre` screws down into the wood and secures the' base-plate thereto, this screw being short or long, according to the thickness of the wood being operated upon.A

E represents the operating-handle, which is usually made about twenty-four inches in length, and a handle of this length'will, with the adjustable cutters, cut wheels of from four,

to` twenty inches in diameter, as may be desired. The central portion of this handle, which is enlarged, is formed with a vertical screw-threaded aperture, F, which adapts the handle to fit and turn upon the threaded hub B of the base-plate A. Each end ofthe handle, to each side of the central aperture F, is formed with a vertical longitudinal slot, G G, and in each slot fits the shank H of one of the cutters I. These cutters are formed with the body portion J, formed'at its upper end with the shoulder' K, which tits against the lower side of the slotted handle, and the shank H,

cutting-heel of each cutter' cuts into the wood and the pointed inclined toe of the other cutter operates to remove or take out the strip so out, as will be readily understood; or, if one vcutter alone is used instead of two, its toe, on

its next revolution, will remove thevstrip cut by its heel. l prefer, however, to use two cutters, as they divide the labor, making the strip cut by each cutter only one-halt' as thick as it would be if only one cutter were employed; and, further, bynsing twocutters t-he annular groove is carried down straighter, or with a iiatter bottom than if only one cutter were used, and the apparatusworks steadily and is prevented from tilting to one side while in operation.

The front edge of each end of the handle is provided with the two scales P P, extending practically from the center of the handle to the outer end of each slot G, these scales being graduated into inches and fractions thereof, and the scales are secured, as shown, to the front edges of each end of the handle, so that their marks or gradations extend down into close proximity to the forward edge of the shoulder of each cutter. the said shoulder eX- tending directly over the center of the heel and toe of each cutter, and it will be seen that by this arrangement the cutters can be instantly adjusted to the precise point desired. Each half-inch of real length on each scale is preferably marked as a full inch, the object of this arrangement being that when the operator wishes to cut a circle of, say, twelve and three-fourths inches in diameter he can rapidly adjust each cutter to the number 12L of each scale, without stopping for any calculations, and will then cut a circle of twelve and threefourths inches in diameter, each Vcutter being six and three-eighths inches ICO from the center of the handle. The bfurcated cuttingheel O of each cutter extends down below the level of the inclined point or toe thereof, so that as the toe is removing the strip cut by the other cutter or by its own heel, when only one cutter is employed, thc bifurcated heel is cutting a deeper strip, over which its toe passes in advance.

The operation of my improved apparatus is as follows: The cutters having been adj usted to the right points and the base-piece A secured to the wood by means of a wood-screw of suitable length, the handle is rotated by the operator, the cutters operating as described, and as the handle is rotated it works down upon the screw-threaded hub of the base-piece, So that thc cutters cut on a spiral, lower and lower, until they cutcntirely through the wood, and thus complete t-he wheel or disk, the rapidity with which the cutters cut the groove being regulated by the number of threads to the inch on the hub of the base-piece; or, it' desired, the groove may be out to the requisite depth and so left. It will be seen that this apparatus may also be used for cutting holes ot any required diameter.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction, operation, and advantages of my improved apparatus will be readily understood. It will be seen that it is simple and cheap in construction, while at the same time it is very rapid, accurate, and efficient in its operation, and can be readily operated by hand by any person to cut wooden wheels, circular plate disks, annular grooves, and holes.

I am aware that a tool for cutting holes has been formed of a bar carrying the adjustable cutters, handles, and an intermediate sliding screw or bolt which is in operation to be .to

screwed into a previously-bored hole in the material to be operated upon and then rotated. An imperforate disk cannot be cut out by this tool, as the bolt must travel entirely through the material. I am also aware that a tool for beveling the edges of barrel-heads has been formed of a slotted bar having handles at its opposite ends, one of which has a penetrating device on which the bar revolves but docs not move vertically. The cutter is mounted in a holder adjustable in the slot of the bar; and I do not claim such as of my invention.

I am also aware that a machine for cutting circles has been formed of a base having a wood-screw on its under face and a screwthreaded post projecting vertically trom its top. A threaded sleeve worked on this post, and a longitudinally-adj ustable cutter-bar was secured to this sleeve by a removable block having loops and a set-screw; and I do not claim the same as of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

The combination,with the hollow stationary externally-threaded hub having a base formed with an aperture in alignment with the longitudinal central axis of the hub, and a removable woodscrew passed through said aperture, of a rotary cutterbar having a screwthreaded aperture through which the hub passes, substantially as set forth.

ISAAC M. RHODES.

W'itnesses:

MICHAEL FINN, M. R. GoLDswoR'rHY. 

